Have you ever felt like throwing that computer out the window? Or maybe throwing the Windows out the window?
Okay calm down, we are collecting as many helpful newsletters from experienced guru authors to help you. Of course I actually may write a few myself.
I have been working at computers since the 70's and had my own business for about 17 years. Cpedley.com will give you some good tips about computers and some FREE software! See notice at bottom.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

What do I mean by the word point? Well, in this case, I'm referring to a system restore point. And yes, you should make one! I know we have covered this before in our newsletter, but I've been getting several e-mails about it lately and besides that, it's just a very important topic. I figured now would be a good time to go over it again. So, if you've never done this before, come with me and learn!

First of all, I want to make sure everyone understands what we're working with here. Both Windows XP and Windows Vista have a feature called the System Restore. What it does is revert your computer back to a previous time; back before you made a big mistake on your computer or before you installed a program that messed a lot of things up, etc. It's sort of like an easy button you can push to get your computer back to the way it was beforehand. So, to do that, go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. (Read here for all the Vista instructions).

Now, XP does automatically create restore points for some situations, but it's best to make them yourself as well. Check the button next to "Create a restore point" and then click Next. Then you just need to type in a description for your point. It could be anything from an installation to an update and so on. Just use a few common words so that your computer can recognize it. When you're done, click Create and you'll be all set. The date and time will be added to your restore point, so your computer will have all the information it needs to get your computer back to normal. You can't complain about that, now can you?!

Don't stop now! Make sure you keep reading to learn all about social bookmarking and how you can get started with it today, find out how you can keep it on the side in MS Word 2007 and learn how you can combine the best of both Internet Explorer and Firefox. Also, be sure to stay safe by reading this week's security article thanks to Gary and as always, don't miss out on Amanda's Cool Site of the Day!

The Biggest Tiny Flashdrive Ever!

Amazing 8GB Drive Is Finger-Tip Small!

Hooks Right To Your Keychain!

Super-Low Price Too!

You Gotta Grab This One!

OK, quick question for you - what's the biggest problem with flash drives? Answer: Forgetting them! Wouldn't it be fantastic if you could find a flash drive that easily fit on your keychain? Wouldn't it be even better if it was actually smaller than a typical car key?

Well, we found it! We have these absolutely amazing teeny tiny little 8GB flash drives that you can put on your keychain! Wait till you get yours - you'll be able to put it on the tip of your finger!These are REALLY tiny! Just look at the photo - it's mostly plug!

Oh, and this was fun - When we got these in, I asked around - "How much memory do you think these have?"

No one guessed over 2GB! Talk about floored! No one could believe these were 8GB drives! I had to plug it in to prove it too! Hard to believe something this small can hold this much! When this arrives at your door, you'll be shocked at just how tiny these really are!

They may be small on the outside, but with a whoppin' 8GB of storage inside, these are like the Grand Canyon of flash drives! We're talking 11CDs worth of data on the tip of your finger! That's an amazing amount of storage - let's take a closer look...

To put this in perspective, this little monster can hold an astonishing 1,200 12MP Jpeg images, 2000 MP3s (that's like 4 days of straight music), or 160,000 typical size Word docs - AND IT FITS ON THE TIP OF YOUR FINGER! Ain't technology wonderful?

Oh, and this little flash drive is Ferrari fast too!It's USB 2.0 so data gets to and from it at absolutely blistering speeds! Finally - No more watching the progress bar crawl by at a snails pace - you'll really love it!

PLUS, this has a little keychain lanyard! That's my favorite part! Normally flash drives are just a little to large for a keychain, ya know? Not this little guy! Put it on your keychain and the only time you'll remember it's there is when you need it! Oh, and the cover swivels up and over the plug when not in use so your USB contacts stay clean and protected - they thought of everything!

Your price? Normally the smaller a flash drive is, the more expensive it gets - but not for you! We have these for just $24.97 and US Shipping is FREE! Regular, full size flash drives go for $40 all day long at the big chain stores! It's finally time to give up those big, bulky flash drives! Grab this today -you'll love it!

PS - This was a limited quantity buy, so make sure you get to the site earlier rather than later! Anytime we feature tiny flash drives they tend to sell like wildfire - and this is by far the coolest we've ever come across! Don't hate yourself for missing out!

Real Power On The Road!

Just Plug In!

Turn Your Car's Lighter Into A 120V Household Plug!

Really!

WOW - We landed an incredible deal on an AWESOME 75 Watt Power Inverter! What the heck is a "power inverter" you ask?

Basically, a power inverter is a device that plugs into your car's cigarette lighter and converts the 12V DC power supply into 110/120V AC power supply. In short, this unit gives you a household AC plug that you can use in your car! Basically, you can use this great little gadget to power all kinds of devices. Everyone I've talked to has come up with several uses for it (then promptly bought one :-)

Think about the possibilities - you could use this for charging laptops, DVD players, small TVs, video game consoles, and cell phones! This power inverter is a valuable accessory for both long and short trips alike. Heck, it would even be handy for recharging batteries (been there, done that - camera, iPod, MP3, etc.) -I can't think of anything you wouldn't be able to use with this!

I've had an inverter for several years, I can't imagine hitting the road without one! I've been on several cross country trips in over the last year and this is one accessory that's always plugged into my cigarette lighter! I use it constantly!

This Power Inverter also features low-voltage thermal overload protection to protect against short circuiting, overheating, and overload and can be positioned several ways to better fit different car designs. I can't find one thing I don't just love about this item! It's absolutely fantastic! Oh ya - it's also really lightweight (about 1/2 lb.) and really compact so it's easy to store when not in use or to move from one vehicle to another!

Your price on this is incredible - just $15.97 and US shipping is FREE! Power inverters are normally on the expensive side - most go for $50-$90, so this is an outstanding buy.

PS - OK, here's the deal. This is actually the second time we've tried to run these! First time, our supplier got them in, and they were swooped up before we had a chance to order! We got some this time, but these are VERY popular! We are trying to get more, but right now we have less than 100 to go around! You gotta hurry to get in on this one!

WOW! Amazing DIGITAL Tire Gauge!

Makes Checking Your Tire Pressure A Snap!

Save TON$$$ In Gas With The Proper Tire Pressure!

Here's an absolutely incredible deal on a Digital Tire Gauge! I love these things! I personally have one and let me tell you - after you go digital with your air pressure readings, you just aren't going back to the "blow out the stick" type gauges :-)

It's SOOOO easy to use! Just press it to your valve stem and it will give you an EXACT reading of your tire pressure! PLUS it covers a HUGE range - from a mere 3 PSI to a whopping 99 PSI- this has you covered for just about every type of tire you'll ever run across!

What I love about these is there's no guesswork. With the "blow out the stick" type gauges,you are always wondering if you stuck it on the valve stem right, ya know? Heck,I can stick one of those old-fashioned gauges on the valve stem 3 times and get three different readings!Why even bother - my thumb pushing on the tire would be as accurate! With this, all the "mystery" goes away!

Not only that, this even includes a handy tire tread gauge to see how much tread you have left ton your tires! How cool is that?

Finally, making it easy to check your tire pressure makes it easy to save on gas. Everyone knows that properly inflated tires get better MPG! I think it's time to double check my tires!

Oh,and get this - Just $14.97 and US shipping is FREE! It's a heck of a deal - make sure you grab one before they sell out!

PS - You guessed it - this is another limited quantity deal. Get to the site early and grab one of these for each of your cars! Give 'em a try - you'll never go back to the old tire gauges

Q: What can you tell me about social bookmarking?

A:Well, a lot actually! I know most of you have probably heard of bookmarking and some of you probably know what I'm talking about when I say social networking, but what about social bookmarking? Do those three things even have anything to do with each other? The answer to that is yes and no. Allow me to explain!

When you bookmark a Web site, you're pretty much adding it to your Favorites list (in your Web browser) so that you'll be able to find it easier and faster the next time you want to visit it. That way, you don't have to take up so much time finding it again in the wide world of the Web. Now, I'm willing to guess that most of you bookmark a lot of Web sites on a regular basis. Am I right? So, once you have all those sites compiled, what are you going to do with them? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to share them with other people who may have the same interests as you?

Well, that's where social bookmarking comes into play! It allows you to share your bookmarks with other Internet users in a collaborative sort of way. Usually, social bookmarking takes place on sites where the users can create an account to add their bookmarks to. It's also helpful to do it on sites that allow you to insert keywords for the types of bookmarks you add. That way, they all can be organized and set into categories that other users can easily search through.

Social bookmarking gives you the chance to see all of the Web sites you may have missed thus far. By seeing what other users submit in certain categories, you can view the ones that fit your interests the best. You won't have to waste your time looking at other sites that don't interest you either. Also, by being able to see all the sites that other people add, you can start to accumulate a whole slew of new resources. It's all so helpful and you certainly can't complain about that!

Once you become a part of a social bookmarking site, you become a member of that community. You and all the other users are there for the same thing and you can help each other out in finding sites that will benefit all of you. It also makes searching the Web so much easier and quicker. Another great thing is that once you're part of a site, you can access it from any computer and any browser. That way, you're never limited in seeing the social bookmarks you've been waiting for.

Now, you're probably wondering how you can get started. Well, there are a few social bookmarking sites online today, with one of the most popular being del.icio.us. You can create your own account there and once you're all set up, you can search by keywords to find other bookmarks that may interest you. Del.icio.us also has lists for the "Popular" and "Recent" categories, so you can dive right into your searching. You can find bookmarks for all types of things there. From software to design to photography to shopping, it's all right there!

Another great social bookmarking site is digg.com. We've told you about Digg before in our newsletter and you can read here for some basic information about it. Digg is mostly geared toward technology and science, but if you're into that, it will be perfect for you. You can leave comments (diggs) on the Web site as well, which makes it all a little more interesting. One more popular social bookmarking site is reddit.com. It's a great source for up and coming online content. Reddit also has a very unique and easy voting system. Other social bookmarking sites that may be worth a look are Furl, StumbleUpon and Slashdot.

Now, of course, there are always pros and cons to everything and social bookmarking is no exception. If social bookmarking is going to work properly, it takes a lot of organization to make sure all of the information is divided up correctly and is relevant. Sometimes the sites fall short of that and it can make your research a lot more difficult. On the other hand, the sites allow users to gain a bigger knowledge base, all while helping others do the same. Social bookmarking is a feel good type of thing and if done right, it can benefit a lot of people!

Do you use the miniature slides in MS PowerPoint for navigation purposes?

I don't know about you, but I love them! I can quickly scroll through a long presentation, locate the slide I need to edit, select its miniature version and zoom! I'm there in an instant.

There's no scrolling slide by slide to find what I need. Nope, the miniature slides are just big enough to go right where I want, with a single click of the mouse.

In my opinion, transferring that idea elsewhere would be an awesome thing!

Also, along that train of thought, I'd like to talk about MSWord 2007's thumbnails.

Thumbnails?

Yes, thumbnails!

If you check the Thumbnails checkbox under the View tab on the ribbon, you'll find that something similar to the PowerPoint miniatures appears on the left hand side of your program window.

While it's not exactly like PowerPoint's slide miniatures (you can't duplicate pages or rearrange them the way you do with slides), it's a quick and easy way to navigate through a long document, without being forced to guess where something is located.

Also, while the pages are small, I can definitely see uses for laying out your documents. The thumbnails are updated as you work, so you can see the effect any insertion or deletion has on the overall appearance of several pages in the document at once, without the Print Preview feature or a whole lot of scrolling between pages.

So, there you have it. It's what I consider to be one of the fastest document navigation techniques available!

We have a fantastic deal for you today! We just discovered several hundred Full Page Magnifiers under one of our shelving units and we wanna blow 'em out! I tell ya - if you - or anyone you know - has trouble reading the small print in magazines, newspapers, or anything else, this is just what you need! It's easy to handle, and makes tiny print GIGANTIC!

How's it work?Couldn't be easier - it's a giant flexible magnifying glass! Just hold the sheet over what you want to read - The further you pull back, the larger the letters get! Just hold it over what you want to read. Yup, simple idea, but works GREAT!

What I really like about this is how convenient it would be. I mean, it's small, thin, light, and easy to take with you. It doesn't take any effort to store it, doesn't need batteries, and works like a champ!

We have family members who have just a terrible time reading small print,so I'm really excited that we found these!I can't wait to let them try these! I know they're going to just love 'em!

Come on now -

Why struggle with the morning paper? Why give up magazines and books due to the small type?

Just grab one of these and the problems go away! This makes the letters so large, you'll probably be able to ditch those reading glasses too!

You cost? Get this our closeout price is just $8.97 and US shipping is FREE! HOWEVER!!! If you order today, we'll throw in a second one for FREE!How's that for a deal? For that kind of money, you just can't go wrong! Stop stressing out your eyes and struggling with small print - grab one of these today!

OK, we get some good deals from time to time, but this is a real jaw-dropper! We just got these cool little Wireless Stereo Headphones in and WOW - this is just incredible!

When I saw these, I had to test them - after all, for this kind of money, do they really work? Well, I'm thrilled to report - YES - they work GREAT!

They include a cord that you can plug into an iPod, MP3 player, Computer, CD player, (most) TV, Stereo, - whatever! Once connected, just turn on the transmitter and the headphones! A quick button push and you're sent to a state of wireless listening bliss! Cool huh?

As for range, I was really impressed! I figured a few feet if I was lucky, ya know? Well, I found these work great for the room the transmitter is in and can easily go into the next room or two with no static.

They are really light weight too - just wait till ya try 'em on! Oh, and these are the "wrap around the back of you head" style so you don't have an annoying band going over the top of your head. They stay on really great too!

Want more? These also have an FM radio built in! That's right! You can listen to your music device OR just listen to FM radio! The choice is yours!

Again, these are just $12.97 and US shipping is FREE! It's easily the best deal we've ever seen on wireless headphones and I don't think we're going to see another one like it any time soon (or ever). RUN to the site and give these a try! You'll be blown away at what you get for just $12.97!

PS - Yes - you guessed it! This is a limited quantity deal, so you don't wanna wait! You just know these are about to FLY out of here!

CD Care

Do you use a lot of CDs? How about DVDs? Either way, it's very important for you to take good care of them so that you're able to use them for years to come. But what if you're not sure how to properly care for them? I mean, what techniques are the best and what should or shouldn't you do? Well, all the answers you need can be found in today's tip right on our homepage, so head on over there and check it out!

Let's Cook

Do you like to cook? Do you consider yourself to be a good cook? I'm sure there are a lot of great cooks out there, but I have something that might make you even better! Yep, it's the cool site on our homepage today. How'd you know?! It's called Let's Cook and it will help you do just that. Check it out when you have a chance!

As you can probably tell from some of my past articles, I’m a big supporter of Firefox! So, when I see people using Internet Explorer, I try to introduce them to my Web browser of choice. Often, I’m told they don’t want to change over, because they like the look and feel of Internet Explorer 7. Well, we all know Firefox is flexible, so let’s use that flexibility to combine Internet Explorer’s sleek look and Firefox’s speed and security. Shall we?!

1.) First, you should install the following add ons to make the next steps a lot easier. Make sure you don’t restart Firefox until you have them all installed.

2.) Once you have those installed, you'll probably see a difference right away! Here’s what it should look like:

3.) Great! You have a basic Internet Explorer interface, but what’s the deal with Mozilla Thunderbeast? Well, the extension Firesomething is responsible for that, so to make your Firefox look more like an authentic IE, you need to change the header of the program to Internet Explorer. To do that, click on Tools, Add Ons and then Firesomething. Finally, click on the Options button.

Delete everything in the boxes (Fire, Hypno, Ant, etc.) and then add names so that the spaces look like this:

Now, look at your Firefox header!

4.) You’re almost done! To change the Firefox logo to Internet Explorer’s, click on Start and then copy and paste this into the Run box: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\chrome\icons\default

Remember that Main Window icon from earlier? Well, go ahead and drag that image into the folder and overwrite any existing icon that may be there. Then simply restart Firefox and sit back in awe!

5.) Now, let’s fix the Bookmarks menu problem. Go back into the Add Ons interface (Tools, Add Ons) and scroll down to the Menu Editor. Click on Options and the Menu Editor interface will pop up. Now, from the drop down menu, choose Bookmarks.

Next to the drop down menu, uncheck the Visible checkbox.

Do the same for the History menu. And there you go! You have a fully functional Internet Explorer/Firefox mix. Your favorites have also been synchronized with Internet Explorer thanks to the PlainOldFavorites add on. How cool is all that?!

Okay, be honest now! How many of you out there still use weak passwords? You know what I mean! I'm talking about the infamous passwords like "1234," "password" and "qwerty." I hope most of you are answering, "Not me!" But I'm second guessing, because I read an article a few days ago that just blew my mind.

Recently, a study was done on 28,000 passwords that were stolen from a popular Web site. The study found that people are still using weak passwords, even though the consequences have been shown time and time again.

The analysis found that 16 percent of passwords were someone's first name, 14 percent were simple passwords, such as "1234" or "qwerty," five percent were names of TV shows or movies, four percent were "password" and three percent were passwords like "whatever" and "I don't care." If you add all of that up, weak passwords accounted for 42 percent of all the passwords analyzed. Wow!

Now, I know our readers are smarter than the average computer user, so I assume you aren't contributing to those horrific numbers. But, if you are, you should fix it now! We've written several articles about strong passwords that can help you. Take a look at a couple here and here. Until next time, stay safe out there, my friends!

Do you have a hard time keeping track of when your favorite musicians release new music? I know I do! I can’t keep track of who's releasing a new CD and when. I love to support my favorite artists by buying their music, but since I like so many different artists, it all gets jumbled up in my brain!

But no more! With Feed Revolution, you can keep track of all your favorite musicians and get an e-mail when they release something new. It's really easy to sign up for as well!

Just type in the names of artists or bands you like. (Note: If you have a last.fm username, you can import artists from your playlists there). Next, enter in the e-mail address you’ll want the alerts sent to. Then click on the button to sign up!

While you'll be auto-logged in, you’ll need to click on the link you receive in your e-mail to activate the e-mail feed. As soon as you activate your e-mail feed, you'll start getting e-mails whenever one of your favorite musicians has a new release!

Once you’re logged in, you’ll be on the New Releases page. That's where you can monitor on the Web page what's coming out each month. There's also an Add Artists page, where you can add artists to your list of artists to watch.

If you aren’t logged in and you go to the New Releases page, you can browse through all of the new releases for the month. I thought that was pretty cool! There are 22 pages of new releases for the month of February, so be sure to check it out today!

Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share? Send it to Amanda at amanda@worldstart.com

February Wallpaper

Here's February's wallpaper. It's all free, so enjoy!

Snowy Deer

This girl was in a group I managed to slip into. It was snowing pretty good and she was curious about me and got within eight feet for this close-up! If this isn't a February shot, I don't know what is!

Moonrise

I shot this just last month in the Valley of Fire State Park, just about an hour from Las Vegas. We were going to another spot just down the road, but couldn't resist stopping for this shot. Timing on one like this is really tough, so dumb luck came to my rescue.

Summer Stream

Here's one that's a little different. It was shot in the Smokies last summer, but instead of giving you the straight shot, I added a soft-focus/dreamy effect to it. I hope you enjoy it!

You are welcome to reproduce this newsletter (i.e. print it, store it) for your own personal use. You are also welcome to forward it, in its entirety, to friends and family.

If you would like to reproduce this publication, or any part of it, in any other publication, be it web based or otherwise, you must contact us for permission. Any unauthorized re-distribution will be considered a copyright infringement and grounds for a lawsuit.

Finally, you agree to try any advice contained or suggested in this newsletter at your own risk.

Microsoft and Windows are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation (duh!)

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This blog consists mainly of FREE newsletters from computer web gurus that I receive. I thought you might like to see them all in one place than try to discover them on your own. A moderate amount of editing may be done to eliminate unrelated repetitious ads or unnecessary text which bloat the post.
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INTERNET SECURITY - ANTIVIRUS - EMAIL

I have 3 favorite internet security programs, each of which fits a different individual or group. Below is my first pick due to very low memory use so that it will not slow down your machine. Click on box to check it out.
- Charles